Ridley Scott's space epic stars Matt Damon.

Fox tentpole The Martian has blasted off in China, opening to $50.1 million.

That's far ahead of fellow space epics Gravity and Interstellar.

Globally, The Martian has rocketed past the $500 million mark thanks to its late China run, finishing Sunday with an estimated $545.1 million in worldwide ticket sales. To boot, the film has become Ridley Scott's biggest movie internationally, surpassing 2012's Prometheus ($278 million).

Starring Matt Damon, The Martian has grossed $218.6 million domestically and $326.1 million overseas.

Based on Andy Weir's book, The Martian has a built-in China storyline, with NASA enlisting the Chinese to help rescue an astronaut stranded on Mars.

The pic did big business on 249 Imax screens in China, which contributed $6.6 million.